The modus operandi has become strikingly familiar. When Liverpool players have been away at important matches abroad, their opulent homes have been targeted by a gang of burglars.

As the team won 4-0 against Marseille on Tuesday night during their crucial Champions League tie, the club captain, Steven Gerrard, was robbed while his wife, Alex Curran, two young daughters and one of his wife's friends were in the house.

He is the sixth player to fall prey to the criminals in 18 months - and the majority of incidents have occurred while the players have been in Europe for Champions League matches.

At around 9.30pm a gang of four men, wearing balaclavas and hoods broke into Gerrard's £3m home in the village of Freshfield, near Formby, Merseyside.

Yesterday an officer stood guard outside while his colleagues carried out forensic examinations which were focused on muddy footprints left by the gang.

Simon Brookes, who lives opposite, said: "I could see police helicopters shining a spotlight on Steven's garden. Then a few cars sped up and quite a few people got out and were pressing the intercom at the gates of the house. One of them said: 'Alex, don't worry. It's the family,' before the gates opened."

He said the robbers must have meticulously planned the raid because the house was "like a fortress". "Steven's house is guarded by high walls and a huge iron gate," he added.

A friend of the family said: "The burglars have no respect. They trashed the place trying to find the valuables and then just waltzed out through the front gate. You can see their muddy footprints in the drive. Alex is heartbroken by what's happened. But she's trying to be strong for Steven and the kids."

In this week's Closer magazine, Curran said she had bought her husband a Cartier watch for their first Christmas as a married couple. It is not clear whether the gift was stolen.

The couple's children were asleep upstairs, while Curran had been watching the match on television. After the game finished, it is thought she disturbed the burglars.

A spokeswoman for Merseyside Police said: "We are appealing for information following a confrontational burglary at an address in Formby. We are looking for four men, described as white, between 5ft 7ins and 5ft 9ins and wearing dark clothing with hoods and balaclavas. The men came across the resident and another adult in the house.

"The resident was shaken but not injured following the incident. There were no injuries during the incident and no weapons were seen by the victims."

The last raid was three weeks ago, when Gerrard's team-mate Dirk Kuyt was a victim, possibly of the same gang. His home was targeted while he was away playing for Holland.

The Wirral home of Jerzy Dudek, Liverpool's goalkeeper for the 2005 Champions League penalty shootout, was burgled in June 2006 as he holidayed in Poland. Dudek, who now plays for Real Madrid, had a Porsche Carrera, jewellery and a large haul of football memorabilia stolen, including his European Cup medal. Pepe Reina was burgled while he played for Liverpool in May's Champions League semi-final against Chelsea.

He had a grey Porsche Cayenne taken, a Bang and Olufsen entertainment system, jewellery and personal documents. The car was later found burnt-out.

At the time he said: "It makes you scared to think someone has been in your home while you were out."

Defender Daniel Agger had his home burgled in September last year and the striker Peter Crouch's home in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, was ransacked the same month while he was on England duty.

Ian Cotton, spokesman for Liverpool football club, said: "Our first concerns are for the welfare of Alex, Steven and the family. The club takes this extremely seriously and we will be looking at ways to provide cover for the players' houses while they are away with the club on domestic and international duty."

Bobby Barnes, the assistant chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, said: "The majority of players clearly have sophisticated systems which gets rid of any chance attacks. Most of these are targeted deliberately by career criminals rather than scallies trying their chances. If a criminal is really determined to break into someone's home, then they are likely to do it. But footballers live in the real world and are aware that they are just as likely to be victims of crime."

Merseyside police confirmed last night they were linking all the incidents involving Liverpool players.

Supt Phil Scarth said: "The force already offers annual security reviews for the players, if they wish to take advantage of them. We are now working closely with the individuals affected as well as the club to offer crime prevention and personal security advice as well as stepping up security around footballers' homes."